The Beauty Inside
by alyssamichellewriting
Summary: Katerina Kriegel of Alfheim gets betrothed to Loki, Prince of Asgard. Loki is beyond against the arrangement, even though he looked upon her and admired her incredible beauty. Once discovering the secret of her magic, he learns that the two have something in common and that the arrangement may not be as bad as he thinks. Pre-Movies, will eventually work itself into the movies.


**this idea has been in the back of my head for quite sometime now. i figured i would write it. this took me forever to write, but i hope you end up liking it :) tell me what you think!**

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Frightened, nervous and alone, young Katerina Kriegel of Alfheim flattened out her dress as she entered the carriage to take her to the castle of Asgard. It was surely stunning to Katerina; she has never seen anything like Asgard in her entire life. She would be calling Asgard home now for the rest of her life, thanks to her father for betrothing her. She was not happy of the arrangement between her father and Odin, the Allfather, but she would have to deal with it.

Katerina would not be marrying Prince Thor - she would be marrying Prince Loki. She had never met the man in her life, but from what she heard, he was not a pleasant person. There was a reason why he was called God of Mischief and Katerina did not want to have to discover why.

"Lady Katerina, we have arrived." the driver said. Katerina nodded as she was escorted out of her carriage. Once standing, she flattened out her dress once more as she followed the guards into the castle, and from there the throne room where she was greeted by Odin, Frigga, and Thor. Frigga was the one to greet Katerina.

"Katerina, you have grown so much. I'm thrilled that you have made it into Asgard safely." she said to her, hugging her softly. Katerina hugged her back, in spite for not knowing what else to do.

"Thank you my lady. Asgard is beautiful." Katerina replied, not knowing what to say. Frigga laughed lightly at Katerina's bewilderment and nervousness.

"There is no need to be so nerved up child. Thor will show you to your room, where you can get cleaned up and changed to be presented to Loki." she said to her comfortingly. Frigga's words did not comfort Katerina, but made her more nervous to come face-to-face with Loki later on.

"Thor, show Lady Katerina to her room." Odin said from his throne. Thor nodded as he approached Katerina, asking for her arm. She slowly gave it to him as he walked her out and down a large hallway.

"Tell me Lady Katerina; when were you informed of the arrangement?" Thor asked her as they walked.

"Two hours before I left. I only came of age today as well." she said to him. Thor laughed loudly, startling Katerina slightly.

"Nothing like trying to push you out." he said to her. Katerina smiled as she laughed as well.

"My father knows no boundaries. Anything to keep Alfheim strong of course." she said to Thor. They were silent for a few moments before Thor spoke again.

"When you are presented to Loki tonight… view him with an open mind. Not many people understand my brother, and to be honest, he is not to happy about this arrangement." Thor said to Katerina. She sighed lightly as they approached a white bedroom door, pausing outside of it. "He may come around, he may not. Just be patient with him." he said as he opened the bedroom door.

"I will. Thank you, Prince Thor." Katerina said to him.

"It is my pleasure, Lady Katerina. I will be by in about an hour to retrieve you to come and meet Loki." he said to her, ducking out of the room and leaving her to be by herself. Hanging up next to the bed was a lavender colored dress that she was to change into. Katerina sighed as she begun to change into the dress, and upon seeing how it fitted her curves perfectly, she smiled. She walked over to her balcony and stood outside to admire the view of Asgard.

_'I can get used to seeing this view everyday…' _Katerina thought to herself as she looked down upon a group of warriors training below. Prince Thor was joining them now to watch as was Odin. Tired of watching people fight, she turned and went back into her bedroom, sitting at her vanity and looking at her face in the mirror.

Making sure nobody was around, Katerina muttered a few words to herself, then watched her hair make itself presentable. She smiled, being able to use her magic brought her joy. It was used commonly where she was from, but her mother told her to use it wisely. Typically she did not listen to her mothers advice anyways, but since she was trying to make an impression, she would.

Katerina was nervous to meet the young, mischievous prince. She knew he was short tempered and that he had a thing for lying. She was nervous about what was going to happen when they did meet, although she was almost positive that he would not be happy about the arrangement. Or that he would act polite but then be rude to her when no one was around. Katerina told herself that she would be silent with him and only speak unless he spoke to her first as to not get on his nerves or test his patience.

There was a knock on Katerina's door, to which Thor came in slowly.

"Lady Katerina, it is time for you to meet Loki." Thor said to her. She nodded as she got up and walked over to him. "He is waiting in the dining hall with my parents. He promised to be on his best behavior."

"I prepared myself for anything to come at me. I am not expecting his ultimate kindness or acceptance. I am just expecting cooperation, and even that I feel would be asking to much." she explained to the Prince. He chuckled at her as they kept walking to the dining hall.

"You would be right about that. I have a feeling that once he warms up to you, you will be a good wife for him." Thor said to her. Katerina sighed softly at the mention of being Loki's wife. "I told him to go into this with an open mind as well. He is not happy about it, but he said he would put his best effort forward."

"At least he is putting in an effort." she mumbled. Thor smiled at her remark. He liked Katerina, he liked her very much. She would be good for him. The two fell silent as they approached the dining hall, Katerina getting more nervous by the second. As they proceeded further into the room Katerina was able to see Frigga, Odin, and who she assumed to be Loki standing there waiting.

"Loki, this is Lady Katerina Kriegel of Alfheim, your wife to be. Lady Katerina, this is Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard, your husband to be." Frigga said to the two as Thor and Katerina approached. The Katerina and Loki looked at each other silently for a few moments.

_It would be so much easier to resent this arrangement if she were not pretty. Damn. _Loki thought to himself. Katerina was truly a beauty with her olive-tinned skin and dark brown hair with complementing brown eyes, men were not ones to turn their heads from her. She had an hour-glass figure with curves in all the right places. Slowly he took her hand into his and brought it up to his lips, kissing the top.

"My lady." he said to her. Katerina smiled at his kindness and curtseyed herself to Loki.

"Prince Loki." she said back to him simply.

"Please, just Loki is fine." he said to her with a smile, a smile that Katerina couldn't identify. _Damn, what am I supposed to say to him now to make me not sound like a fool? Think Katerina, think…._

"Then please, Katerina is just fine as well." she said back to him with a smile that she attempted to make similar to his own. _If i am still standing, I must be doing okay with him. _

"Well, the two of them seem to have everything under control. We should leave them be." Odin said to his wife and Thor. Both Loki and Katerina started swearing in their minds as the King and Queen left the room slowly. Thor walked over to Loki first.

"Behave, Katerina is nervous. Don't frighten her." Thor said to his brother.

"Now why would I do that?" he asked him. Thor gave him a serious looking, informing Loki that he meant what he said. "But yes Thor, I will behave." he said back to him. Thor glanced back at his brother one more time before exiting the room, leaving the two alone.

"I should have you know, I am not a people person." Loki said to her honestly.

"Neither am I, so this should be interesting. But if we are going to be stuck here together and forced into a marriage we might as well attempt to make something of it." she replied back as Loki politely brought her over to a chair and sat her in it. He then pulled up a chair next to her and sat as well.

"Tell me, how much surprise do you hold right now?" he asked.

"A good amount. I was confident there was to be yelling and cussing and tricks and magic involved." she admitted to him.

"Magic? What would you know of magic?" he asked with a scoff. Loki thought that surely a lady such as herself would not be meddling with magic like he does, she would be disowned from her family if she practiced such.

"My mother possessed magic. Once she was discovered she was executed for possessing it." Katerina informed him. "So I would say I know a thing or two of what magic is." _Please don't ask me if i posses magic, please don't ask me if i posses magic…_

"Magic is common among highborn nobles here in Asgard. It is pity your mother and yourself did not come to Asgard earlier, she could have been spared." Loki said, nonchalantly as if it meant nothing.

"Yes, such a pity." Katerina said back to him. Loki snapped his attention towards Katerina.

"You dare speak to me in that tone?" he asked her, standing up over her dominantly, venom in his voice. Fortunately, nothing scared Katerina, so she stood up and looked at him as equally as he was looking at her and spoke to him with the same amount on venom in her voice as he was giving her.

"Excuse me if I am actually able to speak my mind. I grew up raised by a king solely because he executed my own mother when I was 10. I woke up this morning on my 21st name day to find out what he was sending me off to Asgard to marry you. I was being separated from my father, and all of my hand-maidens that have become my best friends. I have been through a lot in my life and today alone, _you do not frighten me Loki Odinson." _Katerina spoke to him. With that, she turned on her heel and walked herself to the polar opposite side of the room to keep her distance from the trickster/fiancee. The doors to the dining hall opened and Katerina turned to see Thor walking in and Loki storming out.

"To be honest, I am surprised you both lasted this long." Thor said to her. She laughed lightly. "So, what did he say? Did he threaten you?"

"I told him off." she mumbled. Thor roared with laughter. "What? Do you think I will stand for anything he tries to pull?" Katerina asked him.

"No, I do not think that. Which is why I think that once he warms up to you, you will suit him well."

"Do not count on that happening anytime soon." Katerina said to Thor as she headed for the exit of the dining hall.

"Try to find a common interest with Loki. Maybe magic?" Thor asked. Katerina stopped in her tracks and turned to Thor. "You did not think your father was going to warn us about your magic before you got here? He has told us in private. You will be protected. But Loki is not aware of your magic."

"What makes you think Loki would be willing to do magic with me?" she asked him quietly.

"He might not." Frigga said from the doorway. "But I have a thing or two I want to show you. Loki comes to me everyday at about 4 noon to sit with me. If you come either before or after and he sees us practicing, he might take an interest." she said to Katerina, who looked uneasily between Frigga and Thor.

"If you say this will be a good idea… than I shall do it." Katerina said to them. Frigga smiled at her kindly, as did Thor. She was not sure if this idea of hers would work at all, but she would be willing to try.

Like Katerina said earlier, she might as well try to get along with Loki. Right?


End file.
